Impending Doom
by stevieLUVSAlex
Summary: Castle always had that feeling of impending doom when it came to thoughts of marriage... so why didn't he feel the same way as he stood by the jewelry counter and thought about Beckett? Second-chapter now up!
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N: Just a little one shot I couldn't resist writing. =))**_

Marriage had always filled Castle with a feeling of impending doom, and yet as he stood by the jewelry counter, gazing at engagement rings and thinking about Beckett, it felt more like a flutter of butterflies and the excitement of surprise birthday parties. Okay, so maybe he was getting ahead of himself, after all, it wasn't like he'd even asked her on an official date. Sure, she'd come back to his house for dinner, three… no, four times this week. But it wasn't the same as buying her an engagement ring.

This was insane!

Castle sighed heavily and turned to leave. "I'm sorry, sir, were you looking to by something?"

"I don't know," he stated turning back. "I'm not exactly sure."

Actually, he didn't know what even possessed him to walk into the jewelry store to begin with. He had simply been passing it and saw a ring in the window that reminded him sorely of Beckett and he was drawn to go inside. Now that he was looking at rings he knew the idea itself was insane.

"Thinking about proposing and not sure if she's a sure thing?" the man guessed.

"Not exactly," he said shifting his feet uncomfortably. "She doesn't even- well, she's…" he sighed. This was crazy, what was he even doing in the store? "I'm going to go now," he said awkwardly.

"You were looking to get one of the rings?"

"Yeah, I was…yeah."

The man smiled and pulled out the board from behind the counter, revealing a set of gold and white gold engagement rings. Castle was aware of what he was doing. He was a salesman, and his job was to sell as many pieces as he could. Castle was a perfect target.

"Maybe you could buy the one that you're drawn to and the rest will fall into place," the salesman told him. "Romantic dinner and moonlight walk on the beach."

"Far too cliché," Castle mumbled, and very un-Beckett-like. If he was going to propose, he would have to make it very original, something a police officer would like. Was he seriously considering this?

"It couldn't hurt, Mr. Castle," the man said, as if he could read his mind.

Castle frowned. "You know who I am?"

"Of course," he said. "I'm a huge fan. I loved the Derrick Storm series. I couldn't believe you killed him in the last book. He was heroic. The world of books will never be the same."

"A writer needs to grow," he explained. "I was bored. Everything about the character was predictable and it was time to move on. Have you read the Nikki Heat series?"

"I have," he admitted. "It's quite good. I thoroughly enjoy the sexy, sassy female detective. Is she real?"

Castle smiled. How was he supposed to explain the situation to a salesman?

"Oh," he exclaimed. "This is who the ring is for? Well, I have a better collection of the more exclusive set of rings." He replaced the board and pulled out a more expensive collection and showed it to Castle.

Instantly, he spotted it. It was perfect and it was VERY Kate Beckett like. It was simple and elegant, without the look of plainness. It had three stones, and was a clear-cut diamond, 22 caret gold ring.

He pulled out his cheque book and filled it in. Money had never been an issue for Castle, and yet he had never been a showy kind of man. As far as he was concerned, money had its place. But for once, he wasn't watching how much he spent, and for once he was just going to follow his gut.

"I'll take that one," he announced.

"Wonderful," the salesman beamed.

Castle had been on his way to the precinct and shoved the ring in his coat pocket. It would be safe there.

"Where have you been?" Beckett demanded as he stepped off the elevator.

"I er… was just… my alarm didn't go off," he shrugged, silently scolding himself for using such a lame excuse. He was a writer for heaven's sake, and that was the best he could come up with. Beckett looked him over as if she was deciding whether or not to believe his excuse. But instead of giving her time to come up with a question that would no doubt contradicted his lie, Castle moved towards the bullpen. "What's up?" he asked.

"We have a new case!" she announced.

"Why didn't you call me?" he asked, pulling his phone from his left pocket – the opposite side from where the ring was. He looked down at the screen, and saw 3 missed calls from Beckett. How did he miss those? He looked back up at his partner. "I didn't hear it… sorry," he muttered.

"Let's go!" she stated, walking back towards the elevators.

"Right," he replied, following her.

As they stepped into the elevator, Castle turned to look at Beckett. Why didn't he feel that sense of entrapment and impending doom, as he did whenever he considered the possibility of marrying again. Why, when he looked at Beckett, did he imagine a life full of promise and unpredictability?

"What?" she asked uncomfortably, as she watched the expression of awe etched across his face.

"Nothing," he smiled, turning his eyes away. "Where are Esposito and Ryan?"

"At the crime scene!"

"What have we got?" Beckett asked as she stepped out of the driver's side of the car and slowly approached the boys, Castle a few steps behind.

"Two dead bodies," Ryan responded, looking down at the corpses. "It looks like the perp placed the bodies in this position post-mortem. They've seemingly been here more than a few hours…"

"But Lanie will tell us for sure when she gets here," Esposito added. "She's stuck in traffic."

Castle turned to Beckett. "See, aren't you glad I was a little late, or else we would have been stuck there, too."

Beckett avoided eye contact and made no reply, as she looked down at the bodies positioned in a spooning manner. She would never admit to being wrong – she was far too proud and strong-willed to admit allowed that Castle and right, besides, his head was already far too big for her liking.

The boys babbled on about the crime, and what they knew, while Beckett shouted orders and Castle made his usual theories of cowboys and Indians and vampires and werewolves, until Beckett told him to shut up, while she worked out the facts of the case first.

Beckett and Castle drove back to the precinct, while Ryan and Esposito stayed behind and waited for Lanie. Beckett scribbled the known information on the murder board, and threw theories across the room between herself and Castle.

"What do we have so far?" the captain asked.

Castle took off his coat and hung it on the back of the chair, listening to Beckett.

"Not much yet, Sir," she replied. "Lanie was stuck in traffic and hasn't reached the crime scene yet. But we should hear from the boys when she's looked at the two bodies."

Castle would have added his theory, but the woman hated him. He didn't particularly care. He didn't take much of a liking to her, anyway. He was there with Beckett and the boys, and he was just grateful that she hadn't kicked him out of the precinct permanently.

Castle pulled out his iPhone just in time to have it vibrate and begin the tune to mission in possible. He smiled and answered the call. "What have you got?" he asked casually.

Ryan gave him the update, which he then proceeded to relay to Beckett and then he told Castle they'd be back at the precinct in a little while. Castle hung up, and repeated the words to the Captain and Beckett.

"Well, I don't want to wait around," Beckett said. "Let's pay a visit to the victims parents, and see what they have to say about their relationship."

"It's cold outside," he groaned, liking the indoor warmth the precinct offered.

"Don't be such a baby!" she teased. Beckett turned and grabbed his coat from the chair, where he'd hung it.

"No, wait, don't do that," he yelled reaching for the coat. But he was too late, and by snatching the jacket he caused the small velvet box to come tumbling out, rolling on the floor and landing at her feet.

"What's this?" she bent down to retrieve it, while Castle stood shell-shocked, unable to utter a single word. He watched as she opened the box and her eyes popped out of her head. Suddenly her demeanor changed and she shoved the box at him.

"It's not what it looks like," he stammered, unable to come up with an excuse.

"And what does it look like?" she said sounding evidently annoyed.

"I wasn't going to…"

"It isn't any of my business," she said turning to sit down at her desk. She was obviously grumpy.

"I didn't mean that, I just-" he said with a frown. This wasn't coming out right.

"It's none of my business who you're dating, Castle," she snapped.

"I'm not dating anyone!" he replied firmly, shoving the box back in his coat pocket.

"Oh, so it's completely normal for you to go around buying engagement rings?" she challenged. "I thought you despised marriage."

"Maybe I changed my mind," he shot back.

"Maybe I don't care what you do," Beckett groaned and went about ignoring him.

"I don't know what the hell I was thinking," he growled. "Maybe I was stupid enough to think things were different with you."

Her face expression changed and Beckett looked up, shock displayed clearly on her face. "You brought that for me?"

"Maybe," he muttered. This SO wasn't how he it in his head.

"Castle, we're not even together," she pointed out.

"I know," he said awkwardly. "I just thought… I don't know what I thought, I just brought it. It looked like you."

"It is me," she said quietly. "But I-"

"I'm not asking you to marry me, he said.

"So, why did you buy an engagement ring?" she frowned.

"I don't… I don't know. Never mind. Forget it. I'm going to get a coffee." He left the bullpen as quick as he could, without flying.

"You brought Beckett a ring?" Ryan said the moment he stepped off the elevator, two cups of coffee in hand.

Castle frowned. "How did you find out?" he asked, and suddenly realized that Beckett would have told Lanie, who in turn told Esposito. "Is nothing sacred?" he groaned.

"You were going to propose to Beckett?" he repeated, seemingly stunned.

Castle frowned.

"What the hell were you thinking?"

"I didn't give it to her. It fell out my coat," he said defensively. "And I don't owe you an explanation, just- where's Beckett?"

"At her desk," he shrugged, shaking his head at him.

"Don't look at me like that," he said.

Castle walked into the bullpen and found his partner t her desk, she looked up and smiled as he handed her their usual morning ritual cup of coffee. "What no ring, today?" she teased.

"That's just mean," Castle pouted.

"I thought it was pretty funny," Esposito laughed.

"You guys are supposed to be on my team, what happened to bros sticking together?"

"This is more fun," Ryan smiled walking back to his desk, his partner close behind.

Castle turned back to Beckett. "You told Lanie? I bet the two of you had a good laugh about it. Thinking how stupid I am-"

"Oh, Castle, we didn't laugh about it… we were hysterical."

"Real funny. I supposed you didn't think I was stupid, either?"

"Well, this is reality, not everything is unpredictable," she grinned.

Castle laughed mockingly. "I'll get you for this," he warned. "When you least expect it, when your guard is down, that's when I'll strike."

Beckett only smiled.

Maybe he'd throw her off balance by proposing… tonight, at dinner with his family.

_**Hope you liked it? I was told by my housemate to write a POV for Beckett, I'm not sure… what do you guys think?**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N: I apologize for those I upset, by having the boys and Beckett so unfair, regarding Castle's feelings, but I had in my head that they all thought it was a big joke. I will do my best to fix it. I didn't realize that it was so harsh… it must have been my mood. Again, I'm sorry. I hope this makes up for it. =))**_

Beckett's usual patience was a little thin this day. She had been thinking about Castle more and more, and despite her efforts, she was distracted by his presence. Especially, when she thought of him in a dating scenario. Candle-lit dinners, walks on the beach holding hands… okay so that was a little too cliché, but it was all the same to Beckett – she wanted Castle to make his move already. The problem was, she didn't know how to broach the subject.

This wasn't something she could talk to Lanie about, because she'd find some way to tell Castle, afraid that Beckett would die alone before she had the guts to make a move. She meant well, she was always looking out for Beckett, but this was something entirely different. This was personal.

So when Castle was being his usual annoying self, Beckett was quicker than usual, to snap at him and as she snatched the coat from the chair in order to hurry up Castle, and the ring came tumbling out and landed at her feet. It left her stunned. She knew what it was, before she even opened it. It didn't take a genius to figure it out.

But Beckett immediately jumped to the wrong conclusion?

Was that why he hadn't made subtle hints regarding a date, or romance. Had he been seeing someone else all along, and had suddenly gotten very serious about her? Castle was a player, he had a flirtatious streak that drew an woman in a 5-mile radius.

"What's this?" she asked bending down to retrieve it, while Castle stood silent for a change. She felt green-eyed monster rise within her as she opened the lid to see a ring of immense beauty, something she would have picked for herself. He had brought a ring for someone else. She straightened her shoulders and shoved the box back at him.

"It's not what it looks like," he stammered.

"And what does it look like?" she said, unable to hide the annoyance from her voice. Who was she to tell him he couldn't marry someone else. She didn't have a claim on him. she had told him instead that she had to work through some issues before she could ever have a relationship that she wanted, and she was just stupid enough to think he may actually wait for her. what a fool she had been. She felt mortified.

"I wasn't going to…"

"It isn't any of my business," she said turning to sit down at her desk. She didn't want to hear who was the lucky woman. In fact, she didn't want to talk about it, ever again.

"I didn't mean that, I just-"

He was trying to spare her feelings, she was sure of it. "It's none of my business who you're dating, Castle," she snapped.

"I'm not dating anyone!" he replied firmly, shoving the box back in his coat pocket.

"Oh, so it's completely normal for you to go around buying engagement rings?" she challenged. "I thought you despised marriage." Unless that was another one of his head games to throw off the fact that he was dating and wanted to marry whatever stupid blonde bimbo managed to capture his attention that week.

Beckett had almost began to believe he was a changed man, and that beautiful, model, looking women were nothing compared to Kate Beckett.

"Maybe I changed my mind," he shot back.

"Maybe I don't care what you do," Beckett groaned. She turned her head away, intending to ignore him for the rest of the day.

"I don't know what the hell I was thinking," he growled. "Maybe I was stupid enough to think things were different with you."

Beckett felt her heart rate speed up, and she looked up slowly, to see a confused look plastered across his face. Had she heard him right? "You brought that for me?"

"Maybe," he muttered.

"Castle, we're not even together," she pointed out, more bluntly than she intended. Now, she was just plain confused. Castle was a hard one to read at times like this.

"I know," he said awkwardly. "I just thought… I don't know what I thought, I just brought it. It looked like you."

"It is me," she said quietly. "But I-"

"I'm not asking you to marry me, he said.

He wasn't? "So, why did you buy an engagement ring?" she frowned.

"I don't… I don't know. Never mind. Forget it. I'm going to get a coffee." He left the bullpen without waiting for a response.

Okay, now she was stunned. What did all this mean?

"Help!" she exclaimed, walking into the morgue.

"What happened?" Lanie asked with a small smile.

This was certainly a friend-help situation.

Castle wasn't serious. There had to be another explanation. Castle with his wild theories and insane head games. How could he possibly be serious about proposing to Beckett when he hadn't even asked her out on an official date, not that she was waiting for it or anything… okay, so maybe she had been. She'd been to his house for dinner several times that week. Wasn't that a hint that she enjoyed his company outside work? And they had talked about a relationship once or twice, it wasn't an entirely insane idea… was it?

But marriage? A ring? Surely, this was one of his Castle-famous pranks, made to make Beckett analyse everything.

Beckett explained what had happened, as quickly as possible and then Lanie, without thinking, laughed aloud. "Are you going to say yes?"

"He didn't ask me?" she pointed out.

"When he does?"

"He's mad at me at the moment," she said sadly. "You should have seen the way he walked out. He looked like a sad puppy. I don't know if I can say anything to make it better. I think I really messed up this time."

"It's Castle," she said. "He loves you. He always has. You know it, and he knows it."

"What do I do, in the meantime?" she asked running a hand through her hair.

Lanie thought about it. "I can't answer that," she said. "I don't know."

"Thanks for the help," she muttered, walking out again.

She had to save face.

It was all she could think to do.

Her stomach exploded as Castle walked into the bullpen. He approached her the desk, an handed her their usual morning ritual cup of coffee. "What no ring, today?" she teased, playfully, hoping that would make everything go back to normal.

"That's just mean," Castle pouted.

Had she gone too far with this one? Why did she have such an issue with being serious when it came to Castle and matters of the heart? It was hard to allow her heart to take the lead when she was so used to working with her head, in every case.

"I thought it was pretty funny," Esposito laughed, from his desk.

"You guys are supposed to be on my team, what happened to bros sticking together?" Castle complained.

"This is more fun," Ryan smiled.

Castle turned back to Beckett. "You told Lanie? I bet the two of you had a good laugh about it. Thinking how stupid I am-"

"Oh, Castle, we didn't laugh about it… we were hysterical."

"Real funny. I supposed you didn't think I was stupid, either?"

"Well, this is reality, not everything is unpredictable," she grinned.

Castle laughed mockingly. "I'll get you for this," he warned. "When you least expect it, when your guard is down, that's when I'll strike."

Beckett only smiled.

Beckett felt like she had taken it all too far. Maybe this once, she could get him alone and have an adult conversation, even Castle could have one of them from time to time. She approached him, in the break-room and stepped behind him, a hand on his shoulder.

He seemed to freeze under her touch.

"You're right, I was a jerk… I'm sorry," she whispered. "I should have thought about your feelings, and I was being immature," she said with genuine feeling.

He shrugged. "Yeah, well…"

"I really am sorry."

"Prove it?" he smiled turning around to look at her.

Beckett took a step back, dropping he hand from his shoulder. "How?" she asked sceptically.

Castle grinned. "Dinner... my place."

Beckett smiled. Why not? She had done it for the past four nights. "Sure," she answered. "That would be nice."

Castle's smile widened. Why did she think he was up to something?

_**I hope you liked it. =)) Don't know if I'm going to write the proposal, I might let you all think of your own ending… hehehehe**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**A/N: Since you all thought I was harsh, I thought you deserved another chapter, so… here it is. Hope you like it =)) THE ENDING…**_

Esposito and Ryan looked uncomfortable as they approached Castle. "We um…" Ryan started, elbowing his partner for back-up. Esposito said nothing, leaving the overdue apology to Ryan. "We gave you a hard time about the whole ring slash proposal thing… we shouldn't have. So, you know, sorry."

Castle laughed. "Yeah, well… as lame as that apology was, you're forgiven. I was serious about this, you know… I think."

"Well, you have our blessing, if you want it," Esposito said. "I think you've stuck around long enough to prove you're the real deal."

"Thanks, guys," Castle smiled. "That really means a lot coming from you."

"Doesn't mean we won't kick your ass if you do anything to hurt her," Ryan added. "She's like our sister. You break her heart and we'll break your face."

Castle stifled a laugh. "Yeah, okay."

"We're serious."

"I know. So am I. I'd never intentionally hurt her, you know that, right?"

The two boys nodded. Castle always had her best interests at heart.

"Listen, I want to the propose to Beckett… at dinner tonight, with my mother and Alexis. I would really like it if you guys were there, too."

"Cool."

"Yeah, sure. We'll be there."

"Great. Be prepared. It's gonna be ripper. Best proposal ever," he said confidently.

"Um, excuse me," Ryan frowned. "Mine was pretty damn good. She said yes, didn't she?"

"Yeah, she felt sorry for you," Castle teased.

"Nice," he replied. "Real nice."

"Come on in," Castle offered, widening the door for the boys. Beckett wasn't there yet. As they stepped into the apartment, dressed formally in suits, they noticed the table was laid out with silver plates and cutlery, looking as rich and luxurious as Castle's bank account. He had gone all out, and it looked incredible.

Candle-lit and romantic.

"Wow… this is fit for a king," Ryan exclaimed.

"Only the best for my girls."

"Your girls?" Esposito said raising an eyebrow. "She hasn't said yes yet. She might come to her senses before it's too late."

Castle put his hand over his heart and pulled a face, a look of pretend hurt etched across his face. "Oh, you wound me."

The boys laughed.

Martha stepped out into the open lounge room. "Good evening, boys. How nice that you could join us."

Everyone exchanged hugs, kisses and greetings and then someone tapped on the door again. Castle feeling surprisingly nervous, went to answer it. Beckett, dressed in a sexy red number, stood on the other side. "Hi," she smiled.

He couldn't take his eyes off her. This was definitely the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. She knew how to handle a gun, catch a perp and dress like a Goddess, what else could he possibly want?

"You look… wow… I mean, you're beaut-" he cleared his throat. "Hey. Come in."

Beckett smiled as she brushed passed him, touching his shoulder and sending a thrill through his body. This woman was magic. Beckett was impressed with the kitchen setting and as they all sat down, chatting animatedly about the food and making mundane dinner conversation, Castle stood and tapped his knife on the crystal glass to capture everyone's attention.

"Hi," he smiled, feeling the nerves over every muscle in his body. Why hadn't he been this nervous when he proposed to his last two ex-wives?

Everyone looked up at him.

"Everyone knows why I brought you all together," he started. "So I'm not going to make you wait a long time, besides, I'm too impatient as you all know and I can't wait any longer." He looked directly at Beckett, who was seated beside him. She looked up to meet his eyes. "I realize that my jokes mean that sometimes you don't take me seriously, but I can assure you I have never been more serious about anything in my life. I wanted to ask you in front of all these people, because it felt right. Sometimes you feel like you're alone in the world, and I guess I wanted to show you that you're not, you have all these people that love you, and you're family to them. And that if you say yes to what I'm about to ask you, you will never be alone again.

"From the minute I saw you, I knew you'd change my life, I just didn't realize how much. I am so incredible glad that some crazy person read my book and mirror those murders. Don't get me wrong, I feel sad for their families, but it brought you into my life… and I am grateful for that, no matter what happens here tonight." Ever since Esposito made the joke about Beckett saying no, he realized it was a possibility. "But before I run out of courage, I am just going to ask you… I'm not like everyone else, as you've come to know. I don't play by the rules and I don't follow someone else's steps when it comes to traditional proposals. We are yet to go on an official date, we are yet to share our second kiss…" he smiled.

"Second?" everyone exclaimed.

Castle and Beckett exchanged smiles. It was a hard one to forget, even if it had been a ruse to catch the perp. "But I want to marry you. I love you, Kate Beckett, from the bottom of my heart and every bit in between. I promise to change your life the way you've changed mine. I promise to be there for you whenever you need me, and even when you don't. I promise I'll never give up on us… _ever_, so marry me and let me give you a family, let me give you the life you deserve?"

There was a long pause as she contemplated the question.

"No," she whispered.

It took a moment for Castle to understand what she'd said.

"No?" he repeated, he felt all the strength leave his body. Had she really said no?

Beckett met his eyes and smiled innocently. "Yes. Of course I will," she said. "Yes, I'll marry you, Rick. I will. Yes."

Castle sighed with relief and laughed, the nervousness suddenly diminishing. He slipped his arms around her waist and drew her forward. "I'm going to kiss you now," he told her. "In front of everyone. Are you ready?"

"Make it quick," she said, a deep blush in her cheeks.

Castle pressed his lips to hers, and took his time.

"It's about bloody time," Martha announced with a loud clap.

Amen.

_**I hope it was what you all wanted. =)) Have a great new year everyone!**_


End file.
